Staal still struggling after brother's hit

Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes and Marc Staal of the New York Rangers skate on the ice before the Honda NHL SuperSkills competition part of 2011 NHL All-Star Weekend at the RBC Center on January 29, 2011 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP)

CHRIS STEVENSON, QMI Agency

GREENBURGH, N.Y. - New York Rangers defenceman Marc Staal isn't feeling well as he recovers from a concussion.

Brother Eric of the Carolina Hurricanes, who caused the brain injury with a big hit in February, might feel worse.

"It (stinks). It's not fun for him or fun for me," Eric told the Raleigh News and Observer. "It's difficult. It's difficult for me and difficult for him. It's one of those situations that's kind of scary. You obviously don't want to hurt somebody, especially when it's your own family. It's just one of those things he has had a tough time with."

Marc Staal acknowledged that his brother wasn't happy.

"But it is what it is," the Ranger said. "You can't do anything about it now."

Marc Staal said acupuncture treatment is helping with the headaches. Otherwise, there's not really much to do, he said.

"It's frustrating. It's something that I've never had before. Frustration is probably the best word for it. I've been improving over the last 2-3 weeks quite a bit and I just hope it keeps going in that direction.

"With all the attention (concussions) have been getting, it's kind of a tricky area to predict or to say what to do. Right now I have been improving with working out and working hard, so we're going to keep going in that direction until something changes."

Eric Staal said despite what happened, he thinks the relationship with his brother is good: "I was still in his wedding party. We're still very close, talk a lot," he said.

Meanwhile, there are rumours the Rangers could be in the market for depth on defence. Veteran free agents Paul Mara and Bryan McCabe, who finished last year with the Rangers, are still available.